The 4.0 sp stated that the Genshin art team based Fontaine's geography on Europe, and they tried to distinguish Fontaine from Mondstadt, given the two are close to each other. They mentioned they were inspired by baroque era and art deco designs. In particular, they based some of the designs off of the Alps.
Fontaine is surrounded by waterfalls. One of the designers mentioned that rendering water is a challenge in the industry.
The diving and underwater swimming is done right in Genshin. In too many other games, swimming underwater is a slow and tedious process. But Genshin actually makes diving quite fast, even faster than swimming above water. So the diving experience is pretty smooth so far. And it is convenient that one can switch characters/team underwater too. Apparently, there is no need to breath as there is no oxygen meter as per the livestream.
Will we be able to dive underwater in other areas of the map? Like in the waters around the Alcor, Liyue, or Inazuma?
If there was one thing some Bioshock fans wanted in Rapture: it was the ability to swim and dive underwater. Genshin did a good job bringing this mechanic to the game.
The Chiming domain (Pale Forgotten) and artifact domain give buffs based on hp changes: great domains for Xiao. Fontaine is starting to look like Xiao land with all the hp gimmicks: the land of destruction. Perhaps Xiao got his 'western education' in Fontaine, learning the art of the destruction dao.
The menu now added new styles to the background when selecting teams. This is fine and spiffy. If it were possible to switch teams as quickly as in star rail, that would be nice too.
The map also displays different levels of depth. Besides Fontaine with its underwater regions, this makes exploration convenient in some former regions such as Sumeru (the deserts and jungle).
A quest is required to unlock the underwater Narzissenkreuz Institute. The quest Ancient Colors is required to unlock the underground Elynas region with the Melusines. Another quest 'Ann of the Narzissenkreuz' is required to unlock an underwater region near Chemin de L'Espoir with the Oceanid. These three quests are interconnected in the lore.
Elynas used to be a giant monster that terrorized the world. It was then killed and its body mutilated by war and the cataclysm. The Melusines were born from its body wounds, blood, and flesh. Mamere is able to communicate with Elynas. The breacher primus are Elynas' cells. They drop alien materials. This raises the question if Elynas was an alien lifeform from outside Teyvat.
Big improvement from Sumeru: one does not need to go through a long quest to access the hydro sigil reward system.
Mona writes for the Steambird in Fontaine. As a hydro catalyst she also happens to be convenient for harvesting those romaritime flowers. Barbara works too.
This sword can be obtained by fishing.
The weapon banner...
Act I and Act II are some of the most interesting archon quests ever written in Genshin's history. Whether it is good or bad depends on the performance of future versions, but if anything it was interesting. The ace attorney court scenes involving making refutations and compiling evidence was one thing that made it interesting. The mystery and detective work as well as the general story-telling also made it interesting. Interesting just means that the first three chapters of Genshin did not capture the attention as much as Chapter 4.
However, there will be a penalty. The people who chose the names of the NPCs in the various areas of Fontaine as well as the people who wrote the story on Marcel know exactly what they did. And they know why either version 4.0 individually or version 4 as a whole will be penalized for these choices. How big the penalty is depends on how the rest of version 4 goes, including future archon quests. But it seems that certain people are taking a great leap backward and do not want version 4 to be as good as or better than version 1. There is even some doubt that version 4 will be able to surpass versions 2 or 3.
Here we give a reminder: the story quests are one of the most important factors in deciding how good a version is. A major screwup in the story can end up killing an entire version, no matter what else happens in that version.
So what happened? During Lyney's magic show, Cowell attempts to dissolve a lady (Liliane, a thief) using primordial water. However, the lady fights back and stuffs Cowell into a box. Cowell then gets crushed to death by a water tank. It is discovered that Cowell colluded with Vaughn to dissolve women with primordial water. Vaughn was found guilty and got dissolved by water. The lady is also caught and found guilty of theft. The death of Cowell was fully deserved, and this part of the story was brilliantly written.
Meanwhile, Lyney reveals that during his magic trick, he tried to enter the room containing the Oratrice to find out how it works and why it seems to possess a consciousness. However, he hears a voice in the room.
Later it is found out that Marcel was behind the disappearance case and how many people got dissolved by primordial water. He lost his lover as she dissolved in primordial water. He then entered the Sinthe business, experimenting with primordial water in an attempt to find a way to bring back his lover. Primordial water can dissolve people of Fontaine but not others. It seems after people are dissolved they turn into Oceanids and flow to the Fountain of Lucine, where all water in Fontaine congregates.
Navia's father Callas got caught up in the Sinthe business. He wanted to end it as Sinthe, like an opioid, had a deteriorating effect on people. However, Callas ended up getting implicated in a murder / assassination case. Charged with murder, he decided to defend his honor in a duel, where he was killed by Clorinde. Callas, afflicted with an illness, did not have many years to live left anyways, so he chose to die. Thereafter, he became known as Callas the Unfaithful.
Eventually, Marcel is exposed and tried at court. He then dies from 'bioshock'.
The scene with Marcel getting drowned at the end is reminiscent of how Booker DeWitt (Comstock) is drowned by all the copies of Elizabeth in Bioshock Infinite. Booker (Comstock) turns out to be the father of Elizabeth in a parallel multiverse. A morbid scene, but it was quite the surprise that Genshin imitated that part of Bioshock as well, with all the other jubilant fanfare about the Steambird, Victorian era steampunk, cities underwater like Rapture, flying high in the sky like Columbia.
Bioshock Infinite also got a lot more into quantum physics, spacetime tears, and multiverse theories than most other games. In the Bioshock games, the MC also gets to use various different elemental powers via plasmids/vigors (besides using different kinds of firearms and guns). It would be nice if the Genshin MC could be as powerful.
On a sidenote, Tartaglia is also tried at court and found guilty by the Oratrice. It is the first time that Neuvillette's judgment turned out wrong. Tartaglia and Neuvillette then have a duel.
In a recent movie, Robert Oppenheimer had his security clearance revoked. He became a worldwide celebrity for being the 'father of the atomic bomb' which helped end WW2. However, even the USA suspected Robert of treason and ultimately removed his security clearance and access to classified, confidential, and private information.
Likewise, certain people in China have illegal, unlawful, and unrightful access to private information, including the private chat histories of many other people around the world. If the USA can remove Robert's access to private info, then why can't China do the same thing?
It is sort of akin to the corruption from 'forbidden knowledge' as explained in the Sumeru storyline.
Another thing to consider is censorship of the press. If it is so easy for writers to be manipulated and brainwashed by USA media (which is notorious for inciting color revolutions), then the script of any major story needs to be reviewed by central authorities first before being published.
During the American Civil War, Abraham Lincoln suspended habeas corpus, silencing the voices of dissenting opponents. Even Lincoln would go so far as to censor the press for the sake of the union. Why can't China or any other nation in the world do the same?
Cesar could learn from Xiao on how to not take damage from plunge attacks.
Tatars and Oirats (瓦剌) were two groups related to the Mongols that helped create the Mongol Empire.